This is my...

[Diageo]

This idea was sparked from the Funny Stuff thread and the little debate that has unfolded. And the question is, what is NE to you? Why do you return here time and time again? What do you hope to gain from browsing the threads and interacting with the people? What is the purpose of NE to you.

 

Of course in a related matter, you may have liked some things about the forum that have disappeared, some reason you came here that is no longer exists, which I think would be interesting to discuss.

 

So why do you come here people?

[Iun]

 

So why do you come here people?

 

Self-loathing. And sexual attraction to @bob. And @Dannyboy\-the\-Dane can go.

[Fierce_LiNk]

This idea was sparked from the Funny Stuff thread and the little debate that has unfolded. And the question is, what is NE to you?

 

 

Home.

 

I come here because of the history, because it is still one of the best forums on the net for Nintendo-related news, because the people here are easy-going and nothing ever gets taken really far. It's reasonably diverse, too. You can chat here about almost anything and can stir up quite a good discussion out of it.

[Aneres11]

I have been a member on here for a year and half - 2 years ish now and I come on virtually every day.

 

I probably post more now than when I joined but that's only because of the whole Wii U hype and getting one etc.

 

To me, this forum is a great community, and there are loads of great people on here, but in all honesty I tend to use the forums in a gaming sense for information, news / reviews about games or announcements, or to generally discuss a game / console with people who share the same interest.

 

I have branched out into the general thread and enjoy posting in their too, particularly the music thread, the what have you bought thread and the cooking (or in my case the 'show your cake (again) thread') haha.

It's nice to be able to interact with people who share an interest with you and sometimes, it's nice to have a debate over something providing it doesn't turn a bit nasty ha.

 

One thing I do love is how there are loads of members who do a lot for this forum. For instance in the Nintendo boards, you've got members organising a whole freakin Mario Kart tournament every Thursday! There's guys doing a Wii COD group which has now carried over to the Wii U, and it's just great to be a part of. The time it must take and the attention / care that goes into it is something that makes NE a really great place to be - most of the time.

I won't even pretend to know / understand the whole mafia things, but I'm sure there are people who dedicate time to that to. Again - another great thing about being here.

 

I really like also how at the end of the year the awards are voted on and given out. It's testament to how much of a 'community' this is to be able to have something like that - particularly great that it covers everything from new members to people who've been here for ages!

 

The only place I don't really go is the 'other consoles' thread. I own all the consoles but I just don't ever find it worth posting there.

 

All in all though, NE's a great place to be! I come back daily and it's not because it's just a routine / habit (like Facebook for me), it's because I want to. : peace:

[ReZourceman]

AR WILL REPLY here properly otmorrow. I am tired and I'm in a BJ mood, we're brainstorming. My head is not in a good place for your sakes now (not in a threatening way, in a, I'm talking about penis' made out of jelly and stuff way)

 

xx

[Ville]

1) Because you guys are funny, clever, and can discuss almost everything in a civilised manner.

2) The gaming talk is good.

3) The diversity of the forum, i.e. a lot of members from different countries providing different perspectives.

4) Familiarity.

[jayseven]

OK, let me get this out now. Mainly because I feel the need to say so. How many of you here are yourselves online, or are you being someone else online. Can you safely say what you say here, Twitter or facebook can you say to that persons face.

 

I think this is an excellent post, and a great point to raise as it's something that's been bothering me for a long time!

 

This forum used to be where I came to be myself. Then I hit 17/18 and decided fuck it, I'll be myself irl! So I went full-awesome and quickly earned a load of cool friends, got a job, got a girlfriend, and got high a lot.

 

What was sacrificed, ironically, was the forum itself; the catalyst for me coming out of my shell. I disappear for a year, move in with Shorty, make irl friends with a bunch of the sheffield forumers. Then real life is mixing with my forum identity... so while I'd taken my forum attitude to the big ol' outdoors, I no longer had that hide-away, reclusive spot; the domains were shared. It's like when your mum or your dad friend you on facebook and you have to stop posting pictures of you drunk and naked.. or stop getting drunk and naked.

 

So now what's happened is I've slowly become afraid to talk (read: bitch) about anything anywhere in case someone reads it and tells someone, or something! This has occurred in many circles of my life for many reasons, to the extent where I don't really feel purely like I'm being me anywhere, just being a shard here and a straggle there.

 

N-E is the unifying core. I can see how I've changed in 10 years. I can see how others have changed in 10 years. It's why there's no point saying "the forum's gotten worse" - it's always been 'bad' if you want to see it that way.

 

Ultimately I feel more connected to N-E than I feel wanted by N-E - but that's that. Maybe that'll change (again) in 6 months, a year, or 5.

 

 

However! It's all very well and good having a joyous circle of trust, but it's still an archived, written-in-digital-stone thing, so when it comes to huge life-confounding dilemmas that crush and strain and wear away at the soul after grinding the heart into ash, well it's not something that needs to be on public display, is it? So to this extent, I cannot treat N-E as I can treat my friends, even though right now N-E is closer to me than my real friends. Currently I am a victim of my circumstances.

 

Looking forward to reading the replies from the list of active viewers, though! I've gone from being all mopey to being a little bit more optimistic.

[Cube]

Home.

 

This. N-Europe is my internet home. It was one of the very first websites I ever visited (I searched for "N64" and it came up with American sites. So then I searched for "N64 Europe" and the rest is history. I must have gathered from N64 magazine what the main gaming regions were, otherwise I would have put "UK" or something). It was also the very first website (other than hotmail, as you needed an email) I signed up for - although that was after the transition to Cube-Europe.

[Paj!]

Hi.

 

My name is Paj and I barely ever come here. I barely go to any of my old forum haunts. I had about 3-4 regular ones I used to LOVE. I was thinking about the years of my life I loved being part of the communities online, and the little identity I created on them. I had a great time. Originally on a Heroclix website, where I 'met' ReZ, then on his funny little forum, then here. ReZ 4 lyf <3 He was my mutha and my brutha. <3 <3

 

But...my time on forums and similar dwindled incredibly in the last few years. Mainly since leaving home and being at uni. It's a time thing but also (as my course isn't constantly time-demanding, only in bursts)... I've found my own, real identity. When I was active on forums, I was like... 14 onwards. And obviously somewhat struggling with identity issues of my own, as well as body image etc etc. So I think, looking back now, having a little, manageable identity in a community like this (and others) was very attractive. And fun. And I learned stuff. And I made some friends! But...I'm FINALLY finally exactly who I really am in the REAL WORLD. I'm proud to be myself and I love who I've become, because it's me. It took 19 tears or so to get there but now I'm so happy to be able to walk around as an out and proud gay man. I'm in love. I'm completely supported , loved and accepted by my family and friends, and really...life has never been better on an individual level. Yeah I have problems to deal with, real, big, adult problems concerning THE FUTURE...the sort of stuff that wasn't on my plate back when I was active on here. That takes up my time.

 

While many people on here I really enjoyed the 'company' of, and even the ones I loved to argue with, I have sort of...moved on! When I come back sporadically I'm sorta reminded of my old self and past times, which feel kinda alien to me now. All I ever seem to post here is in the User Image Gallery. How telling. Me now, everybody, look! Then having nothing else to contribute. I think I'll sometimes check Hamish's thread, but he's a friend of mine in real life now so I see him anyway/could just check his tumblr.

 

I know this isn't the same story for everyone - but that's my story. I found myself and (unfortunately?) it's led me away from here (for the most part). I'm still gonna have fond memories of this forum, the people on here, and the other forums I used to frequent - but for now, most of them are kinda...done for me. I'm a different person than I was at 14.

 

Fierce and love,

Tyra xox

[The Peeps]

This is where I play mafia games and talk about xpert eleven... General is good but I mostly lurk the threads and I don't even look in most of them. I feel like I barely post and I should post more but I usually don't have much to say so I don't bother. If I do post it's usually because I've forced myself to think of something to type out of some kind of guilt for being here and not posting :p

 

I've always been myself here, it's one of the things I like about this place.

[Sheikah]

I come here for light-hearted discussion, and also intensely serious, gritty, ruthless Mafia sessions.

[MoogleViper]

Self-loathing. And sexual attraction to @bob. And @Dannyboy\-the\-Dane can go.

 

Well now I'm thoroughly offended.

[Iun]

Well now I'm thoroughly offended.

 

My love for you transcends sexuality, you know that.

[Jimbob]

My views on why i come here, well it is quite simple. It is a place i come to socialize without feeling like i am a "nothing" in the world. I've been here since 2006 (some time ago now) and have made some good friends in this time. There is/was a good community of people here who gave views and opinions which i respect without criticizm. Plus the classic mafia games, which make playtime more enjoyable.

 

To be fair, there are many reasons i come here. The above only samples my feelings.

[Supergrunch]

Like Flink says, there are interesting people who are generally willing to talk about anything, who I've also got to know pretty well. And this is the only forum I know of that seems to have a reasonably sized core community and decent posting rate - it's neither too fast nor too slow. That said, like lots of people, I've not got neraly as much free time as I used to have, what with work etc., and so my posting rate has dropped off pretty horrendously of late. I still read the forums unless I'm horrendously busy, but a lot of the time (especially in term) actually posting takes a degree of energy that I don't usually have left.

 

Which is why I use the chat room, which allows for a relaxed conversation much more easily, but people don't seem to stay there unless you regularly prod them too. If you want to talk to me, join me and Magnus there! (now #n-europe, it would seem)

[CoolFunkMan]

Home.

 

This is the reason I also visit these forums. I've been around since the Cube-Europe days, which was one of the first forums I settled into. I've only stuck around on here, so this place is like home to me. I may not post often, but I'm more of an observer; I enjoy reading what's posted on here, for the (mostly) witty and intelligent banter that goes on.

 

I admit, my presence has dwindled a lot in recent years, and it shows. I know I used to talk to a few of you outside this forum, but my life has had me sidetracked (sorry about that), so I'm not really in any kind of social group like some of you. However, I enjoy your company, I always have. There's a great community here and that's the main reason why I've stuck around all these years.

[Murr]

I used to lurk on these boards for quite a while before joining, Even so when they were Cube-Europe days. Mainly because I was (still am but not as much) into Nintendo in a big way, and these messageboards had alot of great conversations during the cube / Wii launch days.

 

Bit the bullet 2 years ago and joined, and haven't looked back. Checking N-Europe is now part of a daily schedule, it's as familiar as brushing my teeth every morning, I have to come online and catchup with the threads, and enjoy adding my thoughts on games or news that's posted. I like reading other peoples thoughts on games or news that's posted.

 

and it's a very welcoming community too. You don't have to worry about what you post or wonder if you should of said what you did.

 

just a very relaxed, informative, friendly place to post.

[Rummy]

Funny, I was just thinking about this place and what it means to me the other day. I almost posted a thread by itself just being like 'hey, you're all awesome' but probably got distracted by something lame, like work.

 

I *mainly* come here these days for mafias, they're my main draw. However spilling over from what I keep active on other parts(less so in General chit chat as I used to, some topics I have little to contribute, others are megathreads I don't have time to go through for the bits relevant), but it's all mostly as Ville said.

 

For a video game originating forum, Nintendo no less, it's a pretty 'normal' forum. Trolling/flaming at a minimum, lots(a huge part, in fact) of non-gaming and general discussion - creative expressions too etc. Not too much shitstorming goes on, and people are generally quite open-minded compared to what you'll usually find elsewhere. Diversity, as Ville mentioned, plus lots of actual gaming stuff when I need it, and opinions of people that I feel count and will be well informed.

 

Also, largely, through/due to nostalgia. I've been a member since the Wii launch days/just before, and a lurker longer than that. That's 6-7 years of my life, it's a long time; and the forums were a big part. We had/have the meetups too which has made it more than just a forum. It's a nice little community, and I guess a community can't survive without its people; I feel I owe it to the place to stick around. You guys never left me, so why should I leave you?

[bob]

I joined over 10 years ago, and mainly lurked - at first enjoying all the Nintendo stuff, but then migrating into the Chit-Chat board and then pretty much staying there for a few years.

 

I didn't post much, as i generally felt intimidated by larger individuals.

 

Then i went to Uni, and stopped posting. Mostly i didn't have time, but also i thought that i was probably too old for that sort of thing and so i stopped logging on - only returning once i year every time i got that birthday email...

 

Anywho, a year or two into my PhD, and i noticed i had a bit more time than i used to, to browse the internet, and my curiosity got the better of me, so i logged in again, and was quickly welcomed back. Which was nice. I was surprised by how many people did remember me.

 

Once i realised that most of the regulars on here weren't little kids, and had actually grown up like i did and continued to post, i stopped worrying that i was too old, and dived right in.

 

I no longer am inimidated by other users (as i know that i'm better), so i post a lot more.

 

With regards to Jimbob's post about acting irl, i act on here like i act with people i only know very well in real life. So i suppose that's a compliment.

 

EDIT: @Iun. That feeling runs both ways.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

I've often rambled about what this place means to me, so I shalln't bore you with a wall of text. In short, N-E has been a virtual home for me for the past 5 years, and my time here has helped me evolve as a person thanks to the (mostly ) great people I've met and befriended.

[Charlie]

I've been here for 10 years now. I've known a lot of people here for around half of my life.

 

Why would I ever want to leave?

 

I've met loads of you guys IRL in two fantastic meets (especially this Summer's).

 

Tbh, if it wasn't for the personal touch this place has I wouldn't come back. I'm not interested in Nintendo (I barely knew the Wii U was coming out) but I'm interested in how everyone here is doing and what's going on in their lives.

 

And obviously if I didn't post here I'd miss out on Rez's penis drawing competition at the meet.

[Diageo]

I've often rambled about what this place means to me, so I shalln't bore you with a wall of text. In short, N-E has been a virtual home for me for the past 5 years, and my time here has helped me evolve as a person thanks to the (mostly ) great people I've met and befriended.

 

Go on, bore us. :p

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

Can't be arsed to write something I've written before.

[Jonnas]

I've been here for 5 years, now. Before, I used to visit a Portuguese forum (that has since died, along with the magazine that hosted it), but I regularly visited Cube-Europe (later Revo-Europe) for news (due to a link from that forum, fittingly)

 

I finally decided to visit and join the forums back in 2007 (around the time I entered college, actually), and have stayed since. As far as gaming goes, this is the only internet gaming forum I know where civility is the norm (sure, feuds like Zechs/Wii happen, but they're still minor stuff).

 

And as for General Chit Chat... It's a lovely community, as has been said already. We get a few interesting discussions from time to time, and similarly, civility is king.

I suppose I'm not as involved as other members (rarely visiting popular threads like the relationship thread), but I do love them mafia games.

Plus, I've been meaning to sign up for a BISH for the longest time, but I always say "maybe next time"... Oh, well, maybe next time

 

And this reminded me... I will actually be living in Germany for the next semester, and I have no idea how often I'll be able to come here for the next few months. I guess we'll see.

 

And sexual attraction to (...) Jonnas too.

 

What can I say? It's a curse.

:wink: I love you too

[Grazza]

This is my first port of call for Nintendo news and discussion. I come here because I like the people and want to know what they think of news, announcements and the games themselves when they become available. I'm not just saying this, but I've never seen another forum where I feel I could have the same sort of discussions. When the next Zelda is out, for instance, there are people here that I want to play it alongside and hear their impressions of it more than anywhere else. That is really what it's all about to me.